***Passion And Your Weight Loss Journey

If you are struggling with losing weight, emotional eating, or binge or compulsive eating, getting yourself started on a weight loss program is generally not the problem. There is always a new "ultimate" book, program, or diet plan to get you excited and moving in the right direction. At first, the newness of your goal is fun. You see rapid success. You tell your friends about your new program. They join and they see rapid success.

Then inevitably, you hit a rough patch or a plateau. You get to a point where the romance of your weight loss efforts disappears. You have grabbed all the low hanging fruit. Now you have the hard work of learning new skills without the fun.

Staying committed with the follow-through and effort needed to move through your challenges requires more than just will power. Research has repeatedly shown that never-ending motivation requires passion. This means that successful people have a very clear sense of what they want and they feel passionate about doing whatever it takes to get there.

What Is Passion?
What is passion? Does passion have a certain look?

Passion does not "look" any particular way. It is an inner feeling, or perhaps a certain energy, carried by you. It is your own unique zest for life and a love of being alive. Passion is a sense of purpose or meaning applied to the activities or goals you choose for yourself.

When you choose a difficult goal, such as weight loss or ending emotional eating, you have chosen a direction for your life. Yet, until you apply meaning and purpose to your journey, you will view your goal as an unfair burden, or as something you "have" to endure. This attitude of unfairness or self-pity will lead to suffering and overwhelming hopelessness when you meet your first obstacle.

Passion involves a sense of knowing what you want and moving in that direction because doing so is important to you. You decide to face the challenges of your goal because doing so will allow a new expression of who you really are. You decide you want to lose weight or overcome overeating because you want to live your life differently, more powerfully, and filled with more happiness.

Passion Is Unattached to the Outcome
Mastering any new dream in life - including the ability to learn new ways of coping without using food - takes work, dedication, persistence and time. It is inevitable that you will encounter hurdles, roadblocks, and perhaps even brick walls. Those obstacles are unpleasant, yet they are a necessary part of your journey. Each challenge that you overcome uncovers hidden strengths and abilities. Too often people encounter an adversity of some kind, and instead of recognizing it as part of a necessary learning curve, they criticize themselves for having failed, then fold and crumble.

Most anyone learning new skills and unfamiliar ways will be clumsy and fail at times. Passion helps you move through your obstacles with a hopeful outlook and heart-felt enthusiasm. Passion provides commitment and a sense of the true value of achieving your goal. Instead of being easily defeated when the going gets tough, or giving up too soon, you have determination to continue moving forward.

Passion is the energy required to continue moving forward when no guarantee of success exists. Passion is the motivational energy required to move you forward through the hard times, the bad times, and the good times. It is the energy within, an energy urging you to continue no matter what the obstacles or fears.

How to Gain Passion for Your Goal
It is obvious to you that you want to lose weight or end overeating because you want to have a thinner body, feel better, and be happier. While those are all worthy desires, there is something much more important to you about having your goal. Of course, you want to change the way your body looks - but why? What is so important to you that you are willing to devote continued time, effort, and energy into your journey, even when challenges, monotony, or boredom sets in?

Look into the depths of your heart and soul, and search for the true meaning of your journey. What strengths will you uncover by overcoming this particular challenge? What lies do you believe about yourself that facing these difficulties will erase forever? What negative belief systems within you will you challenge by achieving your goal? "I don't deserve love. I'm unworthy to have the good things in life. I'm not safe. People don't like me. I can't have what I want." The list goes on and on. Setting a goal, facing your challenges, and allowing yourself success is how you replace outdated limiting concepts about yourself and replace them with new, self-supporting beliefs.

George Herbert (1593-1632, British Metaphysical Poet) wrote, "Without danger you cannot get beyond danger." What is your heart-felt purpose of getting beyond your particular danger?

The Power of Passion
One a scale of 1 to 10, exactly how passionate are you about your goal to weigh less or eat differently? How excited are you to move forward today with specific action steps that bring your closer to your outcome?

If you are not on the high side of the scale, realize that passion is a self-generated tool. You have the ability to decide your goal is important, to concentrate on being successful, and to motivate yourself until you reach success. Right now, make a powerful choice and realize that your goal is important. By shifting your attitude you can become more optimistic about your future success while also being passionate about your life and efforts right now!